Optical fiber cable assemblies are sometimes formed by laying a plurality of individual optical fibers on a substrate and coating the optical fibers with a conformal coating. Such so-called ribbon cables may be used to route the optical fibers along a path from a first optical fiber connector to a second optical fiber connector. U.S. Pat. No. 8,891,912 discloses examples of optical fiber cable assemblies incorporating such ribbon cables and their method of manufacture.
Handling optical fiber cable assemblies after they are manufactured and during the process of positioning the cable assemblies within an optical-electronic system is sometimes challenging or problematic. The flexibility of the ribbon cables and the desire to interleave the ribbon cables may increase the difficulty during the handling and system assembly process. In some applications, it may also be desirable to provide additional protection for the optical fibers that form the ribbon cables.
The foregoing background discussion is intended solely to aid the reader. It is not intended to limit the innovations described herein, nor to limit or expand the prior art discussed. Thus, the foregoing discussion should not be taken to indicate that any particular element of a prior system is unsuitable for use with the innovations described herein, nor is it intended to indicate that any element is essential in implementing the innovations described herein. The implementations and application of the innovations described herein are defined by the appended claims.